Sunday 4 December 2011

FLYING FROM DAR TO ZANZIBAR

I've lost count of the number of times I've flown between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. But until last month I'd never tried to take photographs of the journey. In the mid-90s, when I flew regularly on light aircraft, I didn't have a good enough camera; and in recent years I've usually been a passenger on larger aeroplanes with misty windowpanes. So in early November I was thrilled to find myself sitting alone on the back seat of a small plane with access to windows on both sides, through which I took most of the photos shown below. It was a sunny morning with a few patches of cloud, and stayed that way until we began the approach to the airport in Zanzibar, where it was pouring down with rain. By this time, though, my camera's memory chip was full, and so I didn't get any shots of the end of the flight.

Coastal Aviation flight to Zanzibar on the morning of 6 November 2011: the view from the back seat

The domestic terminal of Julius K. Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam

The main terminal of Julius K. Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam

Suburbs north of the airport in Dar es Salaam

Suburbs of Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam: looking towards the city centre and Indian Ocean

Ubungo and the road out of Dar

The University of Dar es Salaam

Msasani Bay looking towards the peninsula

The Msasani Peninsula

Bongoyo Island

Bongoyo Island and clouds

Mbudya Island

Kunduchi

Kunduchi Beach Hotel and Resort

The mainland coast between Mbweni and Bagamoyo

The mainland coast opposite Zanzibar

Reef and rainbow 1

Reef and rainbow - 2

Reef and rainbow - 3

Reef and rainbow - 4

Reef and rainbow - 5

Reef and rainbow - 6

Looking towards Pungume Island and Unguja

Kwale Island and Menai Bay

Reef and the Fumba Peninsula

Reef near the Fumba Peninsula - 1

Reef near the Fumba Peninsula - 2

Reef near the Fumba Peninsula - 3

Looking towards Chumbe Island


3 comments:

  1. OMG Martin these photos are soooo beautiful! I know nothing about Zanzibar, beyond always having loved the name, but recently deeply enjoyed the novel By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah (I think).

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  2. what kind of camera do you use?

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  3. Thanks! I have a very modest Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom and keep thinking that I should get something better. I took more than 100 shots during the 20 min flight. Coincidentally I also have some photos of Abdulrazak Gurnah, taken at the 2006 Zanzibar International Film Festival.

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